Hmm, that article seems to be more about gameplay and getting your own copyrights.

I need to know specifically about naming a game so I can get that out of the way and get to work on title screen graphics and whatnot. Not that I'm anywhere near completion. I just started. But might as well attach a name to it.

Traditionally, in the movie and video game industry, you can reuse a certain name, as long as it isn't a deposited brand, or that your logo doesn't plagiarizes or partially copy another game name's visual identity. In other terms, as long as there isn't a copyright or other international protection on a brand, you can use it. But that's theoretical.

In practice, if you don't protect your brand or game in general, a company with enough funds and good lawyers could quickly deposit it as a brand and put you into a lawsuit. There is no real jurisprudence for video games in France for example, and I believe games also have some bastard-ish status in the US too. Anyway, every developer commercializing games independently should work with a lawyer specialized into intellectual property. Because, well, this topic is a pure mess.Valerien2013-11-27 12:16:21

What I mentioned earlier is the gist of whether or not you can use a name.

Trademarked, pattented. meaning some company payed 80k/120k for a concept/name.

If you simply place a copyright sign, or notice, or a trademark emblem ... and its not in fact pattented or copyrighted at all, it doesnt really make any difference. A disclaimer or use policies definition about content does.

Copyright happens as soon as you create something but it's not exactly airtight and doesn't protect a lot of things, not the idea or a name. Use of a trademarked name that has been registered is trademark infringement though.